Top 10 Creative Agency FAQs

Nabil Bushnaq | July 23, 2019

When seeking out a creative agency for the first time, the process might seem a bit daunting. Most companies aren’t sure what to expect when working with an agency or even what services they may need. Partnering with an experienced creative agency can help boost awareness for your brand and grow your online presence to attract more qualified leads and ultimately, drive sales.

To help ease you into the agency experience, here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions we get about working with a creative agency.

1. What is the design process for branding?

Shawn, Art Director

Branding includes everything from brand conception, naming, logo design, to the colour and font selection. Your brand is your company’s identity and it is deeply embedded in everything you do. That is why we take the time to understand your business and industry to create a brand that fully reflects who you are as a company.

Our approach to brand naming involves an initial “discovery meeting” where we take the time to learn all about your product/service, values and preferences. From there, our creative team will research ideas for names individually, review them as a group and then finally provide you with a narrowed down list of the best names for you to review.

For the logo design process, we have highly experienced in-house graphic designers that put in the work, do the research on your company and spend the time to design several custom logo concepts and variations. We also take the time to test the logo concepts to see how they would work on different media types (web, print, digital ads, signage, clothing etc.).

Logos designed by Morad Media

Since 2004, Morad Media has helped over 500 businesses in all industries start, grow, and build their branding. We take a holistic approach to branding to provide you with everything you need to love your brand.

2. How much does logo design services cost?

Murad, Founder and CEO

Logo design is typically done on a quote basis. The cost of a professionally designed logo from a creative agency will be significantly more than a quick $100 design from an online service like 99designs. However, be warned: the difference in quality shows. While some businesses prefer to go with an unknown freelancer to save a few dollars at the outset, the cost of having to rebrand later on is much more costly. Getting your logo right the first time is well worth it!

The price for logo design services varies by the scope of the project. For example, if the logo design is coupled with brand naming, it would be a larger project than a logo redesign. Some organizations simply want to update their logo to look more modern without drastically changing the look which takes less time to design than creating a logo from scratch.

With just a few quick questions, our team can get you an accurate quote within minutes. Click here to request a quote for logo design services now.

3. What are the benefits of using a creative agency over a freelance designer?

Nabil, Chief Operating Officer

When you work with a creative agency, you get access to an entire team of designers, developers, copywriters and project managers all under one roof. With freelancers, it’s up to you to hire each role individually or look for someone who is a master of all trades which is pretty rare, especially for web design.

There is also increased accountability and professionalism expected from creative agencies. With agencies, you can read online reviews ahead of time on Google, Facebook, and other online platforms. Freelancers don’t have the same level of online transparency. You must rely on the references they give you.

Creative agencies have more of a reputation to uphold, which means being able to hold them accountable for our work. With a freelancer, plagiarism is a common problem because they’re under pressure to pump out many different jobs in as little time as possible.

Morad Media stands behind all of our creative work and if called upon, we are more than willing to share our creative process. This typically leads to a higher quality end product. To learn more about the pros and cons of agencies vs. freelancers, check out our blog article on the subject.

4. What are the benefits of having a dedicated project manager?

Sarah, Project Manager

A dedicated project manager is beneficial to the client because they act as the main point of contact for any questions about the design project. When designers and developers are working on creative projects, they rarely have the time to reply right away to client questions. When you have a dedicated project manager, you can always expect a prompt response along with proactive updates.

Project managers are also necessary for the agency because they help the team stay on schedule and on budget. They can also act as quality control, everything that’s passed from the creative team to the client goes through another pair of eyes to ensure the quality of the work.

Creative agencies typically use project management software to help manage tasks between the team and communicate with clients. At Morad Media, our clients get access to our project boards so they can communicate directly with our team and get real-time status updates.

5. What is the process for a website redesign?

Brent, Digital Director

A website redesign typically involves creating a new website design and re-optimizing content to the new layout. In many cases, this involves switching content management systems (CMS).

At Morad Media, we have designed and developed our own content management system and website builder called Morweb CMS. Morweb helps us design stunning responsive websites and it was created with the end user in mind; our clients. Not only is it extremely easy to use, but it also gives you more control over your web design and content.

The next stage involves creating the website design. We will design a mockup of your new website and review it with you, then incorporate your feedback before developing the site.

Once the site is developed, we will analyze, optimize and then migrate your content to the Morweb platform. In the final stages, we will review your new web design with you and train your team how to use the Morweb platform to keep your website updated.

6. What is a content strategy?

Murad, Founder and CEO

A content strategy is a plan for developing the written content for your website. It outlines your website goals, target audience, key performance indicators (KPIs), tone of voice, and vision for your organization. It serves as an important guide to follow when designing your website so that your vision is communicated effectively.

When you work with Morad Media to design your website, we don’t just copy and paste your old content to the new website design. We will work with you to develop a content strategy that will better serve your objectives. We’ll help you improve your website content by reorganizing the structure, revising the copy, selecting great images, and optimizing all of it for search engines.

7. What is the typical turnaround time of a website design project?

Sarah, Project Manager

Depending on the scope of your website project, web design and development can take anywhere between 6 to 12 weeks from the initial meeting to the launch date.

There are several reasons why a website project may take more or less time and it depends on the client as much as the creative agency. As the client, you can help the web design process go as smoothly as possible by providing all of the required content for your website upfront, providing high quality images to use and outlining any required integrations.

For the creative agency, it comes down to experience, manpower and design processes. Morad Media has over 15 years experience designing responsive websites for all types of industries. Our streamlined web design processes and custom CMS allows us to create websites in a faster turnaround time than most agencies.

8. How much does website design cost?

Nabil, Chief Operating Officer

The cost of a website design varies greatly by the size of the website, required functionality, integrations, and level of customization. This is why creative agencies typically offer a quote for website design instead of having a set price list.

Extremely large websites take longer to migrate and require a more complex menu structure than minimalist sites, therefore, requiring a larger investment. The amount of functionality required for your website also affects the price. Features like an online store, blogging, event registration, forms, user permissions, private pages, interactive maps etc. will all be taken into consideration for a web design quote.

The same can be said for API integration, if you want to connect your customer relationship management (CRM) system or marketing software to your website, there may be a setup fee.

The level of customization in the web design also affects the price. Styling the website layout to match your company’s brand guidelines is a fairly straightforward process. Adding more unique customizations like page animations, transition effects or icon designs will cost more. For a quote on your website design project, send us a message!

9. How can I update my website once it is designed?

Jordan, Senior Designer

Most creative agencies will completely pass the website off to you once the design is complete. Then it is up to you to assign an in-house developer or hire a contractor to take care of the upkeep.

The process for updating your website depends on the content management system (CMS) that was used to build it. Open source CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal are much more challenging for non-technical people to use on a daily basis and require sometimes costly and frustrating updates and maintenance.

Morad Media takes a completely different approach to website maintenance. Think of us as your website partner. We have developed our own CMS, Morweb, to enable our clients to make edits directly on their website without any coding expertise needed! Not only is it simple to make edits to your website’s design, but you can easily add new content with our drag-and-drop editor.

We also offer live support to help you make edits to your website, add new content or request new functionality. You can get in touch with our support team via email, live chat or phone.

10. What digital marketing services to creative agencies offer?

Candace, Content Marketing Specialist

Some creative agencies offer digital marketing services on top of design and development work. There are two main types of digital marketing and which services they choose to offer depends on the agency.

The first type of digital marketing is paid ads. This includes Google Ads, native advertising and social media advertising. The second is through inbound marketing which involves attracting visitors to your site via content marketing, social media marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO). There are benefits and drawbacks of both methods, the first method is more costly but will drive immediate results. The second method doesn’t cost anything but is very time-intensive. If your company doesn’t have the manpower to generate quality content on a regular basis, you can partner with a creative agency or content writer to help with this endeavor.

Morad Media’s team of in-house designers have over 15 years experience with advertisement design for both print and digital including magazines, newspapers, billboards, digital displays, online ads, and social media ads.

As for inbound marketing, our team offers SEO strategy, content writing, and social media marketing services. Our content specialists can help optimize your website to improve your search engine rankings and develop regular blog content and social media posts to drive more traffic to your website.

About Morad Media

Morad Media is a cutting-edge creative agency located in Calgary, Alberta. Since 2004, Morad Media has helped over 500 businesses build and grow their brands through creative graphic design, digital marketing and responsive website design.

We’re committed to creating the best user experiences and driving concrete results. We don’t just design something pretty and send you on your way. We’ll equip your team with the right tools and technology to evolve your brand and grow your online presence.

To inquire about our creative design and marketing services, get in touch for a free quote.